364 days with violence and 1 day of Non-Violence (Press)

October 13, 2007

By David Andersson

(NYC, Oct 2nd 2007) In the beginning of June, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared Oct 2nd as the International Day of Non-Violence in connection with Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday (October 2, 1869). The Center of Cultures and the International Immigrants Foundation organized a celebration at the Immigrants Building in New York to honor Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Silo, three great leaders and beacons of light in the cause of non-violence.

How can we reconnect with the power of these figures who faced enormous challenges, who transformed the world and made an enormous contribution to the human being’s historical process? That was the challenge of this celebration. After a short introduction by Nicole Myers, we began with a spiritual ceremony to help us connect with our best aspirations, concentrate our energy and center ourselves. This meditation helped us also to stop, for a few minutes, our daily routine and preoccupations, creating a more appropriate disposition to listen to four greats speakers, who, by their testimonies, revived the lives and messages of Gandhi, King and Silo.

The First speaker was Dr. Uma Mysorekar who was born and brought up in Bangalore, Karnataka State and is currently President of the Hindu Temple Society of North America. She reminded us that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma or